Spec me an LED Torch

I was set on buying the Olight M20 R5 torch (£65) but after seeing Khaaan!'s pictures of the Q5 torch, I decided to get one for myself.
Got mines for £8 delivered from eBay and after playing around with it today if I'm being honest, I would be more than happy to pay at least £30 for it.

The weight and build quality of the torch feels good and most importantly it produces a very bright output. I don't know if it is really 300 lumen but it is visible for over 100m.

It has 3 modes - high/low/strobe. I don't know about battery life yet but I'm using 3x AAA Eneloops 800mAh.

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Flood Beamshot

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Spot Beamshot

The only negative I can think of is when in spot focus, the beam is not circular and is the shape of the LED. Also you cannot stand the tail cap upright because the on/off switch is not flat. However for only £8 I can't complain.
 
You don't have to use AAA though, it comes with a barrel where you can insert an 18650.

Edit*

Reading around people are recommending Ultrafire 18650 and AW brands, 2400mAh and must be Protected cells. Will buy 3xAAA for the head torch though :p

Edit2*
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=18650+protected

They're Lithium Ion too so the charge should hold damn well.
 
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those adjustable-focus lights look like they're using XR-E's so i'd say unless they're VERY well driven, you're looking at 190 - 210 lumens OTF MAX, probably closer to 140 with Alkalines though, which is still very respecable.

you won't get 300 lumens out of an XR-E unless you overdrive it massively.
300 lumens is XP-G territory.
 
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Khaaan! said:
What's a good way of measuring the lumen output?
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there really isn't a simple method unfortunately. that's why there's so much stat-inflation with flashlights - accurately determining the lumen output is really difficult.

i believe the really hardcore enthusiasts on CPF use a calibrated light-meter and a white sphere.
 
Khaaan! said:
I have a solar powered keyboard which can display the amount of lux whatever light source is giving out but I suppose that won't help much :p
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problem is, point-readings like that only give you the light intensity of the beam, not the total amount of light emitted :(

you could have quite a dim light (like a Laser, for example) but if you get the beam tight enough it will look very bright, while not actually giving off that much light.
 
Didn't think about that but yeah that does make sense :p

Ah well, 182 meters in street lit conditions is good enough for me, means it will be even further at ground level and in darkness too. I've seen some expensive torches rate distances of 250 metres or so, close enough :p
 
Yeah max zoom, I just had a quick look out my window and the block of flats a few roads down can be reached, it's a bit darker (but still not completely bright) than down town from my earlier test in the thread and on Google Earth the distance is 233 metres.
 
Oxide™ said:
mmm I really want one of these Khaaan torches now, for under a tenner what's the catch?
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they can be a bit hit and miss - Chinese QC isn't all that good and meaning that you may get one that doesn't work properly or might not work at all.

Also, at this price point the factories take all the LED's they can get, meaning you have no control over the tint/binning of the LED you get.

Still, for the price it's definitely worth a shot, although as a matter of course (or rule of thumb) i'd recommend against AAA-powered lights. AAA's have horrendous voltage-sag at high load due to internal resistance, and their meagre capacity is diminished when they're feeding something hungry like a high-powered LED.

The reason why 3xAAA torches are so popular is because it produces 4.5v which simplifies the electrical McTrickery considerably, which makes the light cheaper to produce.

AA's are a much better choice.

<edit>
Oh, my XM-L monster left HK for blighty this morning so it should be with us by the weekend :)
 
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Cheers AoD - I already have a spare trustfire 18650 so won't be using AAA's

Went to go buy it but it says transaction blocked - I presume because the seller is away until the 10th Feb, is there any other place selling them?

Can't see any other seller with the same torch on the bay
 
Any recommended head torches? My dad is a mechanic and it would help him loads, preferably with adjustable beam as some times a spot reflects back at you too much so a flood pattern can be very handy.

If there is something reasonably priced it's his birthday next week so if I'm quick that will be him sorted lol.
 
The one I posted earlier :p

A few sellers sell that one but as Oxide™ mentions above, not many sell the pocket aluminium version.

But the head one would be perfect for him I guess. I've played around with mine for a few hours already and it's still very bright even though it's only running AAA (although Duracell Procell...).
 
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